Egypt -- Going? Going? Gone!

   Although we were given several pages of Arabic conversational phrases to ease us through the language and culture barriers a North American traveler to Egypt might encounter, what we discovered --  invested with newer, profound meaning -- were terms we already knew: The Lord will provide. God is Good. Thanks be to God!

    On this our third attempt in the last 18 months to make the journey to Egypt, we were able to satisfy all the Covid-19 requirements and protocols and to board the plane for Cairo. Since we were flying out of Toronto, that meant, satisfying Canadian rules, Egyptian rules, and U.S. government rules. No small task.

    Our original commission had been to represent Houghton Wesleyan Church at the Centennial Celebration of the Wesleyan-Standard of Egypt. The original anniversary date passed without any delegation from North America. The first alternative date, early December 2021, passed without the Houghton delegation, Donna and me, although a few veteran travelers from the Atlantic District (Canada) of the Wesleyan Church did go. When we were eventually invited to join a small group of those had also found the door closed in December, led by Dr. Matthew Friedman of Kingswood University, we began repacking our bags. Here, I believe, the phrase "God's timing" is appropriate. For a number of reasons this was a better trip for us to join, in our view, than the one that went in December.

 

 

    During our nine days in Egypt, book-ended by two very long travel periods,we brought greetings from Houghton Wesleyan to Wesleyan churches in Cairo and Badhr City (lower Egypt), Asyut (middle Egypt), and Luxor (upper Egypt). And we returned with specific greeting from those churches.

    We met with pastors in all three places to hear their particular stories and to broaden our understanding of what God is doing in and through the Wesleyan Church in Egypt. In addition we worshiped with the congregations of numerous church. In and around these church visits, we were able to "do" the tourist things one would hope to do on a trip to Egypt, notably visit the pyramids and Sphynx in Giza and visit sites in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor.

    There is much to tell and report and show about all of these things, both in church and in conversation as well as further posts on this blog. But for now this brief report will need to be sufficient.

    As has often happened, our experience is that the best part of the trip was the people we met. We have brought them with us in our hearts and memories, along with a few tangible reminders and a deeper understanding of those little things we say. The Lord did provide. God is Good.

    Thanks be to God.